1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clothes washer, and more particularly to a clothes washer having a compressed water generation apparatus in which water is compressed and discharged in response to vibration energy of a water basket
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a clothes washer is operated by predetermined modes, e.g., a water supplying mode for supplying water to a clothes basket, a clothes washing mode for washing clothes by water supplied in the water supplying mode, a rinsing mode for rinsing clothes after completion of the clothes washing mode, and a dehydrating mode for dehydrating the clean clothes after the rinsing mode.
FIG. 5 illustrates the typical clothes washer which is operated by a series of modes. A water basket 11 for housing an amount of water is provided in a rectangular housing 10. The water basket 11 is shaped as a hollow cylinder for preventing the interruption of swirling water during the clothes washing mode, and is suspended in the housing via a suspension rod 16.
That is, a damper 17a is provided at each of four spots of the bottom portion of circumferential outer surface of the water basket 11. Each damper 16a is connected to one lower end of a suspension rod 16, while the other upper end of the suspension rod 16 is connected in suspension to a bracket (not shown) which is mounted at an upper portion of inner surface of the housing 10.
Moreover, the cylindrical clothes basket 12 is rotatably disposed in the water basket 11. The clothes basket 12 has plural openings 12a through which the water supplied into the clothes basket 12 flows toward the water basket 11. Thus, the water level of the clothes basket 12 is the same as that of the water basket 11. Dirty water is dehydrated from the water absorbing clothes during the dehydrating mode, and lint flows through the openings to the water basket 11.
Moreover, a weight balancer (not shown) is provided at the circumference of an upper rim of the clothes basket 12 to reduce the vibration of the clothes basket 12 during the dehydrating mode.
The pulsator 13 is provided at the inner bottom of the clothes basket 12 to be rotated in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. The water supplied in the clothes basket 12 is shaken causing the clothes to be rubbed together, thus executing a washing operation.
A reduction gear assembly 15 is provided beneath the water basket 11 and has a washing shaft 15a and a dehydrating shaft 15b on the upper portion of the gear assembly 15. The washing shaft 15a is connected with the pulsator 13, while the dehydrating shaft 15b is attached to the bottom portion of the clothes basket 12. The reduction gear assembly 15 is rotated in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions by the rotation of the motor 14 attached on the bottom of the water basket 11.
In the clothes washer provided as above, clothes are loaded in the water basket 12 and water is supplied into the water basket 12, proceeding with the washing mode. That is, when the motor 14 is rotated bi-directionally at the washing mode, the rotational force of the motor is transferred to the reduction gear assembly 15. The speed reduced rotational force is transferred to the pulsator 13 through the washing shaft 15a. The bi-directional rotation of the pulsator 13 causes swirling of the water, and the clothes are rubbed together by the swirling water to proceed with the washing operation.
In other words, when the planar pulsator 13 is rotated, plural wings radially formed on the upper surface of the pulsator 13 enable the water to be swirled. During the rotation of the pulsator, the clothes are rubbed together by the rotating water stream.
Further, when the pulsator 13 is rotated bi-directionally during the washing mode, vibration occurs in the water basket 12 due to the rotation of the clothes basket 11 and the swirling of the washing water. Since the water basket 11 is elastically suspended in the housing via the suspension rod 16, the vibration is reduced.
After the completion of the washing mode and draining of the water, the dehydrating mode proceeds. When the motor 14 is rotated at a high speed in one direction during the dehydrating mode, the dehydrating shaft 15b is rotated at a high speed by the switching of the driving force transmission route, thus rotating the clothes basket 12 at a high speed.
The centrifugal force is applied to the clothes by the high speed rotation of the clothes basket 12. The clothes spread out on the inner surface of the clothes basket 12, and the water absorbed in the clothes is dehydrated. The spun-away water is discharged to the water basket 11 through plural openings 12a formed at the clothes basket 12. The discharged water is drained through the drain pipe (not shown).
However, in the conventional clothes washer, the washing process proceeds utilizing the swirling water generated during the bi-directional rotation of the pulsator 13. The clothes which gather in the center of the clothes basket are twisted and tangled. This causes inefficient washing in respect of the clothes and thus poor efficiency of the washing. That is, the rotational water stream occurs, and the clothes are rotated by the water stream. During this operation, the clothes are rubbed together, and the washing proceeds. The swirling water gathers the clothes in the center of the clothes basket, and the clothes are twisted and tangled. The twisted and tangled clothes cannot rub together easily. Thus, washability is greatly reduced, and the washing time is also lengthened.
Furthermore, the long washing time enables the motor 5 and the reduction gear assembly 6 to overload so the life of the clothes washer is shortened. Moreover, since only a continual water stream generated by the pulsator 13 is utilized during the washing process, the efficiency of the washing is reduced.
Furthermore, vibration energy of the water basket 11 created during the washing mode is dampened at the suspension rod, thus being wasted as unnecessary energy.